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Erasmus in Leuven, Belgium

If you’re reading this, it’s too late you’re reading my first blog post ever. So bear with me. I’ve been wanting to write about my erasmus experience, because 1. I feel like it will be good to read back and reminisce, and 2. maybe it can be helpful for some people out there. A little background: I did my exchange semester in September 2015 (until Feb 2016), during the 3rd year of my bachelor’s degree in economics, and I studied at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (henceforth KUL).

1. Why you should go on erasmus/international exchange Even though this post is mainly about Leuven, there is something to be said about going on an exchange program in general. Living abroad, even if only for a brief period of time, is a life-changing experience: you meet people from all over the world, you become acquainted with a different culture, and you find yourself in completely new situations -- that ultimately show you who you really are.

2. Leuven Leuven is a small city located near Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It’s part of the Flanders region, and the official language is Dutch. KUL is the main university there, and it’s the largest university in Belgium.

Why should you do your exchange in Leuven?

First off, Leuven is student-oriented. What I mean by this is that, since a fair share of its population consists of University students, a lot of the services and events are designed for students. This means student discounts in restaurants, an unlimited bus pass that costs 20€/year, a University Gym/Sportscenter with cheap monthly fees, bikes that you can rent for the semester at an insanely cheap price, and, of course, lots and lots of student parties (I’ll go into more detail about this later). Second, the University. It won’t take much time on Google for you to find out that KUL has a great academic reputation. I can only talk about the economics area, but it holds up. The professors are very knowledgeable, the contents that are taught are important and well researched, and the facilities are great. Not only are the classrooms/auditoria modern and up to date with all the new technology, there are also numerous studying rooms/libraries. Because they tend to get pretty packed, you can check the number of available seats on your laptop/phone. Third, traveling. I’ve mentioned earlier that Leuven is near Brussels. It’s approximately a 20 minute train ride. In Brussels, you’re pretty much in the center of Europe: you can take a train/bus to the Netherlands, Germany, France... If you’re on a budget, I’d recommend FlixBus. If you manage to snag those low-cost flight deals, you can travel pretty much anywhere in Europe from Zaventem/Charleroi Airport. There’s a 15 minute direct train connecting Leuven to the Zaventem Airport (the main Airport in Brussels). Lastly, the part you actually want to read about: partying. The fakbars are the places you want to go to for discounted prices on beers, and to hang out for a while before you go to the Oude Markt - where there’s the majority of bars. However, these are a bit tough to crack when you’re new to the city, as they are packed with Belgian students. Thanks to the amazing work they do at ESN Leuven, you won’t have to worry about party planning. Pretty much every week there’s an international party organized by ESN, and they don’t disappoing. I’d say you definitely shouldn’t miss out on the the Orientation Days, when you have pubcrawls, games, parties, and even a free brunch. This is the time to make new friends and enjoy the parties without the guilt of having homework/studying to do. Aside from the regular night-out (often themed) parties, ESN also organizes an international version of the Cantus. What is a Cantus, you ask? A traditional gathering where you sing and drink beer (I know, it won’t really make sense until you attend one). They also have a theme and a few rules, but you need to go to at least one of these if you’re in Leuven. 

  3. Before you go: general info

Before I went through the application procedure, I remember having this preconceived notion that, to go on exchange, you just needed to choose a city/university and that was pretty much it. To be honest, no one really talks about the bureaucracy involved in the whole process, because it’s boring. I can only talk about the paperwork necessary for the Erasmus program, but my best advice would be don’t leave things to the last minute. There are going to be a lot of forms that you’ll need to fill out: for the erasmus grant, the learning agreement (basically a contract where you have the courses you’ll be taking that semester), forms for your university and the one you’ll be studying at during the exchange,... the list goes on. You’ll need time to fill out these things, and to get approval from both universities. For some countries, you’ll also have to apply for a Visa, and that could take a while as well. 

4. Before you go: student accommodation in Leuven

Regarding accommodation,  I’d recommend one of two things: 1. applying for a University dorm/residency, if you’re willing to share communal spaces with 10+ students; or 2. finding a room in a shared house. The latter has entails a bit more of effort, since you’ll have to reach out to landlords. Fortunately KUL has a webpage where landlords post ads for free rooms. There are also some facebook groups where (mostly) students sublet their rooms. Be early, Leuven is a student city and the best rooms go fast. I hope this was helpful in any way, and do let me know if you disagree with anything/think I should mention more things.

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The Christmas Invasion - Behind the Scenes [Part 11]

Excerpt from Benjamin Cook’s articles in Doctor Who Magazine #365

[Benjamin Cook asking David Christmas-themed questions]

BC: Which gift from ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ would you most like to receive this year?

DT: If the pipers piping were Billie Pipers, then obviously I’d go for that. But that would be quite creepy. It’s got to be ladies dancing, hasn’t it? I mean, there’s not really much contest. Five golden rings you could flog, if they were really nice. But I don’t think you’d get much for them.

BC: If there were five of them, they’re unlikely to be top-notch quality.

DT: Well thought through. I mean, all the others would just be irritating, frankly. And dirty. Colley birds? French hens? Yes, you could eat them, but then you’d have to murder them yourself. I don’t want to do that at Christmas. That’s far too much effort. I want a shrink-wrapped turkey from Sainsbury’s. No, ladies dancing - much better. They can come and dance in my Christmas parlour.

BC: What’s the worst Christmas record of all time?

DT: Ooh jings. No, there’ve got to be some terrible ones, haven’t there? Well, anything by Cliff Richard. Mistletoe and Wine? It’s got to be Mistletoe and Wine. That is a heinous piece of work, isn’t it? My mum likes it. She likes everything by Cliff Richard. But she is wrong! It’s saccharine, and repulsive, and when all those kids start singing at the end, you just want to murder. It’s horrible.

Other parts of this photoset:  [ one ] [ two ] [ three ] [ four ] [ five ] [ six ] [ seven ] [ eight ] [ nine ] [ ten ] [ List of all Doctor Who Behind the Scenes photosets ]

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Hillary 2016

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i want this on my grave

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by Jen Lewis

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This would be an absolutely beautiful disaster.

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Fibre Skeleton Sculpture by Ben Cuevas

Interdisciplinary artist Ben Cuevas created an impressive anatomical piece from fiber called “Transcending the Material”. Paradoxically speaking, Cuevas captures the density of the human bone with a soft material skillfully and gracefully.

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